Boko Haram insurgency, signal of failed state – Musdapher

Former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Musdapher, has warned that the activities of Boko Haram, kidnapping, armed robbery and other social upheavals in the country were drifting Nigeria towards a failed state.

Musdapher, who spoke at the second annual lecture and book presentation of the National Mirror in Lagos yesterday, said: “More than ever before in the history of Nigeria has the scourge of terrorism posed great challenges to the Nigerian state.

“Our slide into anarchy has assumed dangerous dimensions perhaps beyond the capacity of our security agencies to deal with the menace effectively.

“Boko Haram insurgency, political violence, corruption, nepotism, tribalism, indiscipline, abduction and kidnappings, armed robbery, murder and extortion, bombings of places of worship and innocent Nigerians are all indicators of a failing state.

“These social upheavals clearly threaten the survival of the Nigerian nation and we all have a duty to rise and stem the tide. ‘’

Former CJN, Dahiru Musdapher

Musdapher, in his parer, entitled “Media and The Judiciary: The necessary symbiosis”, expressed concern that the country was in a grave situation that required its best collective effort to surmount.

He said: “Our capacity to investigate, arrest, prosecute and convict those found guilty of contravening our laws is evidently weak and compromised; yet no none is held responsible. There is no objectivity in national discourse.

“Most newspaper articles and reports reveal an underlying sentimental pull that seems to outweigh the values of simple decency.

“If a person is accused of wrongdoing in Nigeria, his kinsmen are quick to relegate his clear transgressions to some kind of conspiracy against one of their own. Corruption and nepotism is supported and encouraged by its benefactors at the expense of all others.”